Audiophile speakers that rock well

As I see it, there's a tradeoff relationship between "monitor-sized" and "does Rock well".

In order to have good bass, a small speaker has to trade off efficiency. That's not a problem; the problem comes when "rock the house" levels are demanded of that small, low-efficiency speaker. A small speaker's thermal and mechanical limits are likely to be reached well before "rock the house" levels are, and sound quality takes a hit at that point.

Often a floorstander takes up no more real estate than a monitor-type on a stand, and the extra internal volume allows the designer to do things he couldn't in the smaller box, often resulting in a speaker that works better for rock.

That being said, one of the better small speakers for rock was the Cliffhanger Bulldog. A three-way in a market segment dominated by two-ways, the addition of a midrange driver allowed use of a bass-optimized woofer that had more thermal power handling and mechanical excursion than similar-sized woofer which had to reach up an octave or two higher. Out of production, they show up for used from time to time.

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/cliffhanger_bulldog_followup.htm

Duke
dealer/manufacturer

As a new owner of the Zu Soul Superflys I have to second the Zu recommendation.

ATC Monitors are popular with studios that produce a lot of rock - try to audition the SCM19 - small but plays surprisingly loud. You will need a beefy amp though.

Pick up that used pair of Piega P-10s. They are excellent at rock and will play as loudly as you care to listen.

Shakey

Are you sure that the speakers are failing with rock? I'd suggest getting good speakers that detail well with good recordings and verify they can blast to your satisfaction. If more bass is desired augment with a sub or select another speaker. IMO most rock music is badly recorded and can make a good system sound plain. No surprising as in a concert you have a pile of 2 inch tweeters and 12 inch woofers. We are often playing it back on better stuff then it was initially played on. Guess it depends on what the user wants. ROck the house sort of indicates the desire to cause damage but in sonic control?. IF thats the case maybe some paradigm studio 100's, b&w CM9's and likely a bunch more. Another option would be to go to the music store and drop $800 on a amp combo unit. THe new ones take mp3 input and will cause damage in line with the origional performance. just a thought.

luck

p